Syracuse, Sicily, Italy Jul 6, 2026

Founded by Greek settlers from Corinth around 734 BCE, the Italian city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, grew into one of the ancient Mediterranean"s great powers and is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, "Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica." It is forever linked to Archimedes, whose genius still shapes its identity, and to Plato, who came to Syracuse hoping philosophy might shape political life. That layered past still feels tangible at Castello Maniace, a seafront fortress built for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century, which can still be admired today.

© Balate Dorin/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jul 6, 2018Pandas pucker up for International Kissing Day
Jul 6, 2019Racers pushing past sunflowers in the 2018 Tour de France
Jul 6, 2020Welcome to the Ring of Fire
Jul 6, 2021The most Instagrammable bird?
Jul 6, 2022Kissing Day
Jul 6, 2023International Kissing Day
Jul 6, 2025Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, California

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 12, 2021Sailing on thick ice
Jul 5, 2019Peel Castle on St. Patrick’s Isle with the Isle of Man in the background
Feb 20, 2019An unlikely friendship in the wild
Dec 9, 2023National Llama Day
Oct 5, 2022World Teachers Day
May 20, 2022World Bee Day
Nov 18, 2020An aviation celebration
Aug 3, 2020The monsoon arrives in the desert
Jan 15, 2024Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Jun 9, 2019Crown Fountain by Jume Plensa at Millennium Park in Chicago
Mar 30, 2025Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Sep 5, 20242024 Toronto International Film Festival
Dec 19, 2020Four Sisters, thousands of trees
Feb 27, 2022International Polar Bear Day
Mar 1, 2023Womens History Month
Mar 20, 2023Spring equinox
Apr 29, 2025Formal garden at Château de Villandry, Loire Valley, France
Dec 9, 2021Glowworm caves in Australia
Dec 7, 2025Pearl Harbor Day
Jul 9, 2020High alpine color in Colorado
May 16, 2023American Wetlands Month
May 12, 2018It’s World Migratory Bird Day
Feb 6, 2024Bonsai Rock, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Aug 2, 2022Happy birthday, Capitol Reef National Park
Jun 1, 2021Pretty poetic for a pit
Feb 5, 2024Western Monarch Day
Oct 1, 2019It s Coffee Day
Aug 11, 2025Village of Santa Maddalena, Dolomites, Italy
Oct 9, 2022Earth Science Week
Jul 18, 2019A learning garden